'Jimmy’s Waterhole' wildfire in Manchester: What We Know about Ocean County blaze

A wildfire that started Tuesday evening in the Pine Barrens and continued into Wednesday spread across 3,859 acres in Ocean County, causing evacuations, road closures and threats to structures in the area.

As of Thursday morning, the fire was 100 percent contained.

Here’s what we know:

How did it start?

The fire started Tuesday afternoon west of Route 539 on property of the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, but eventually jumped the highway, said New Jersey Forest Fire Service Chief Greg McLaughlin. Fueled by winds and dry conditions, the fire headed eastward at about 4.5 mph.

"We did see severe conditions last night: extreme wildfire conditions with very long flame lengths,” said John Cecil, assistant commissioner of state parks and forests at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees the state Forest Fire Service.

"Fire (was) crowning into the treetops, (with) windblown embers," Cecil said. Those embers (were) raining down to spot… fires out ahead of us… But all of the emergency responders did a tremendous job, protecting the homes, protecting property, protecting the lives of the people in this community, and importantly keeping themselves safe."

Police and first responders evacuated parts of northern Lakehurst and the Beckerville neighborhood in Manchester late Tuesday night while firefighters backburned the forest on the west side of Lakehurst to rob the blaze of dry fuel, according to the state Forest Fire Service.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

What's with the name?

The blaze, called the "Jimmy's Waterhole Fire” by the state Forest Fire Service, is named for an area where firefighters attempted it to stop it early in the battle.

"There was a waterhole in front of the fire that we were working hard to try to contain the fire around and keep it on one side of the waterhole," said McLaughlin. "This became… an intense working spot for everybody and thus, that became the name."

Nearby: Why will smoke and loud booms be coming from the Pine Barrens this weekend?

Have conditions improved?

Manchester Police Chief Robert Dolan said about 70 township homes were evacuated late Tuesday night, in addition to another roughly 100 homes in northern Lakehurst. Residents who sheltered at Manchester Township High School and elsewhere were permitted to return home early Wednesday morning, he said.

The wildfire is now100 percent contained as of Thursday morning, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service. Structures are no longer threatened; at the height of the fire, 75 structures were at risk.

All evacuation orders have been lifted, according to the Forest Fire Service. During the fire, 170 homes were evacuated.

The remnants of the fire are expected to continue smoldering through Thursday. U.S. Department of Defense Black Hawk helicopters joined the fight Wednesday afternoon to dropwater on hot spots as they erupt within the containment zone, McLaughlin said.

What's the damage?

Fire officials said that as of Wednesday afternoon, no structures were destroyed and no one was seriously injured in the wildfire. However, the state remains under a Red Flag Warning for fire by the National Weather Service, because dry, windy and warm conditions make for ripe fire conditions.

Campfires and agricultural burning are banned across the state while the dry and windy conditions persist.

Did weather play a role?

Low humidity has been a contributing factor to the wildfire, along with gusty westerly winds, said National Weather Service meteorologist Michael Silva.

“When conditions are that dry and windy, it really doesn’t take much for any spark to rapidly spread as a fire,” he said.

The National Weather Service had warned of an elevated risk of wildfires again Wednesday, citing the low humidity and 20 to 25 mph gusty winds.

"Currently we're in the leaf-off season, so that warm sun penetrates the open canopy of the trees right now since we haven't greened up," said Trevor Raynor, a fire warden with the state Forest Fire Service. "The forest floor and all the fuels are very dry."

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: NJ wildfire: 'Jimmy's Waterhole' fire in Manchester updates